


Bathed in Starlight

by Chocolatequeen



Series: Starlit Invitations [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Swimming, Swimming Pools, Tipping Point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26666254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocolatequeen/pseuds/Chocolatequeen
Summary: The Doctor has steadfastly ignored his feelings for Rose. But one night, in a beautiful room with a magical swimming pool, he won't be able to deny them any longer.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Starlit Invitations [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940245
Comments: 27
Kudos: 135





	Bathed in Starlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galiifreywolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galiifreywolf/gifts).



> Inspired by this picture: http://tinyurl.com/y652etvh

_“‘I’ve remembered,’ said Sir Charles, ‘what struck me as odd. It was the ink stain on the floor in the butler’s room.’”_

The Doctor blinked. For the second time, he’d gotten to the end of the chapter without registering a single word he’d read. Not that it truly mattered—he’d read Christie’s _Three Act Tragedy_ dozens of times.

But…

Movement just at the edge of his peripheral vision caught his eye. Rose turned the page of the Araxian fantasy novel she was reading, then tucked her hair behind her ear.

_How am I supposed to read when she does things like that?_

He closed his eyes and pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth. There was always tension humming between them, but tonight it was worse than usual. Tonight it made him want to pull her into his arms and…

He shook his head sharply. _You can’t do that._

Rose sighed, and the Doctor felt the couch cushions shift. He was just able to brace himself before she rested her hand on his arm.

The simple touch ratcheted up the tension tenfold. _Why can’t I do that?_

“I’m gonna go to bed,” she told him, her voice soft and tired. “It’s been a long day.”

The Doctor shook his head, falling back on old, comfortable teasing. “You humans… Sleeping your life away.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well we don’t all have your superior biology,” she said, humour removing the sting.

The Doctor winced anyway. _And that’s why you can’t,_ he reminded himself. _She’s human, and she’ll…_

He swallowed hard. “I’ll see you for breakfast,” he told her.

Rose smiled. “I’ll be there.”

The Doctor held his breath until she walked out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind her, he picked up his book again. Now that she was gone, the tension would fade, just like it did every night.

But tonight, the air kept buzzing around him. After he failed to read the chapter yet again, the Doctor threw his book down and tugged at his hair. “Focus,” he growled at himself.

As if in response, the tension sharpened and shifted to a restlessness he knew all too well. Timelines were shifting somewhere.

“Well, no use sitting here then,” he muttered and jumped to his feet. Shifting timelines left a buzzing feeling under his skin. It was impossible to sit still when you felt like a faint electric charge was coursing through your body.

The TARDIS hummed around him as he left the library and took to the corridors. They often roamed together when his time senses sharpened, two time sensitive beings sharing the moment with the only other person who could understand.

A soft sound caught his attention and he stopped to listen for a moment. It sounded like… splashing? Water swishing around?

The Doctor turned the corner and frowned when he came face to face with an unfamiliar door. “Where does this lead?” He tilted his head and listened; this was definitely where the sound was coming from. “And why do I hear water?”

The corridor lights flickered and the door opened with a nearly silent _snick_ , inviting him to peek inside.

His eyebrows rose when he saw a colonnade built from yellow stones. The room was lit by sconces on the wall, and the soft glow of candlelight turned everything golden.

_Feeling like showing off?_ he teased the TARDIS. She whistled at him, and the door opened a fraction more.

The Doctor’s gaze traveled up the columns to where they appeared to disappear into midnight blue. He could only see a glimpse of the starry sky, so he took a step inside to see exactly what the TARDIS had created.

The columns surrounded a swimming pool, but it wasn’t the way the stars glittered on the water that made his breath catch in his throat.

Rose was swimming laps down the middle of the pool, gliding easily through the water. The Doctor watched, entranced, as she moved in and out of shadow, her body bathed in shimmering starlight.

He didn’t realise he’d stepped fully inside the room until he was leaning against a pillar, watching her with rapt amazement. He could still feel the tug of his time senses, but the urge to move had faded completely. He was exactly where he wanted to be.

But… _Where am I?_ He looked around the room again. This wasn’t his pool. Not the right door, not the right room, not the right pool. So how...

Rose flipped over and did a few lazy backstrokes. “She made it for me, I think.”

The Doctor wasn’t sure how she knew he was there, but he shrugged and took a step forward so he was standing halfway in light. “Why’s that?”

“It just… appeared one night when I needed to unwind.” She spun slowly in place and started treading water. “Remember Ocalia?”

The Doctor’s hand flexed; oh, he remembered Ocalia and the prince who had claimed the gods brought Rose to be his bride. “Yes,” he bit out.

“Well, after I left you in the library, I just… I couldn’t go to bed. Too tense, I guess. And this room appeared. Now I come here any time I need some alone time, or just to relax after a hard day.”

The Doctor felt his face turn hot. _Oh well done, Doctor,_ he berated himself. _Find Rose’s private space, sneak into it, and then watch her from the shadows like a creepy perv._

He shifted his weight, ready to turn and leave her in peace. But first, he had to apologise. His mouth was open, apology on the tip of his tongue, when he heard words he never expected.

“Join me?”

His jaw dropped. “But... you said... relax… alone!”

Rose’s laughter finally loosened his tongue.

“I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion.” He gestured at himself, still in his full suit.

Rose swiped her tongue over her lips, and suddenly the Doctor’s body went hot as he imagined what she would say next.

“You’re wearing pants, aren’t you?”

That... that was not exactly what he’d thought she would say, but he reluctantly acknowledged that it was more logical. “Well, yes.”

Rose nodded. “Then join me,” she repeated.

The Doctor hesitated for another moment. He had been able to ignore the twisting timelines for a while, but in the last few minutes, he’d felt the restless energy creep back under his skin.

_But this is a relaxing place, isn’t it?_

He loosened his tie, keenly aware of Rose’s gaze the whole time. The air felt heavy around him as he shrugged out of his jacket, and his fingers trembled as he started working on his shirt buttons.

_Come on, pull yourself together,_ he chided himself. _This isn’t… You aren’t **stripping** for Rose. Not like that anyway. You’re just going to swim together… you’ve done that loads of times._

He felt the TARDIS’ exasperation with him a moment before her song changed pitch. The discordant note made him cringe, but he got the message—this was different, and he knew it.

_Yeah, but not… different different,_ he argued, getting another, sharper whine in response.

“I dunno what you’re thinking over there, but could you maybe stop?”

The Doctor glanced at Rose and frowned when he noticed she was rubbing at her temple.

“That note _hurt_.”

The Doctor’s fingers froze on his zip. “You heard that?” he demanded. _Heard and understood_ was implied.

Rose nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been able to understand her for a while.”

_Since the Game Station_ —also implied and understood.

The Doctor nodded absently. That explained how she’d known he was there. The TARDIS must have told her.

Normally, mentions of Bad Wolf put the Doctor on edge. What Rose had done… what it had almost done _to_ her…

But tonight, his nerves disappeared with the subtle reference. Because this was Rose, the Bad Wolf, his heart of the TARDIS. This has been inevitable since the moment they met.

He toed off his Chucks, then paused when he felt the shifting timelines solidify. This was the tipping point he’d felt coming. Everything wouldn’t change tonight, but it would _start_ changing tonight.

His fears called to him, but for the first time, he ignored them. Some things were worth getting your heart broken for; wasn’t that what Sarah had said?

He unzipped his trousers with steady fingers, then let them fall. In the light and shadow, he could see Rose’s cheeks turn pink, and he knew she hadn’t been certain he would accept her invitation.

His hearts tugged, and he held her gaze as he entered the pool, willing her to understand what he couldn’t yet voice. _I’ll never turn down your invitation again_.


End file.
